We tried to post fake news on Facebook, this is what happened

The feature, announced in December is the result of collaboration with “third-party fact-checking organisations.”

Designed to combat to the spread of misinformation on the platform, it warns users when they try to post fake stories.

The fact-checker is working for some U.S.-based users who tried to share a story that falsely asserted thousands of Irish people were brought to the United States as slaves.

The story entitled “The Irish slave trade — the slaves that time forgot” was published by the Rhode Island blog Newport Buzz and widely shared ahead of St Patrick’s Day on 17 March.

Attempts to share the story triggered a red alert in the pop up window stating that the article has been disputed by Snopes.com and the Associated Press.

Clicking on it would open a second pop-up with more information:

“Sometimes people share fake news without knowing it. When independent fact-checkers dispute this content, you may be able to visit their websites to find out why,” it reads. “Only fact-checkers signed up to Poynter’s non-partisan code of principles are shown.”